Minimalism

Light and fast

Maybe we have spent too much time running up mountains and on long “adventure runs” out untracked trails, but the Mountain Running ethos of “Light and Fast” has thoroughly permeated our lives.

At this time we are packing up our lives in Washington and beginning another move of 1,400+ miles back to our home in Colorado (baby time!).  Along the way we will be taking with us only what fits in our Subaru Forrester and Toyota Tundra, making sure there is ample room for us to still sleep inside (we plan on camping in the truck, in Yellowstone along the way – who says moving has to be boring).  Adding to that, my folks have volunteered to help with the drive so we will need to fit them in along with any luggage they choose to bring.

Sounds overwhelming.  But its not.

Through the years we have slowly adapted to life on the road. Embracing a more minimalist (by American standards) lifestyle  in order to maximize our overall life experience.

“I’ve come to meet the legendary takers

I’ve only come to ask them for a lot

They say I’ve come with less than I should rightfully possess

I say the more I buy the more I’m bought

And the more I’m bought the less I cost”

Joe Pug – Hymn 101

While there are plenty of blogs touting the virtues of minimalist life, and demonizing the societal norm, Id like to share what it looks like for us.

Efficiency

Ellen and I are always on the go.  Hiking, running, exploring, we do not have time to fuss with stuff.  On many contracts we are out and about soaking in the area right up until the week we leave.

If we have too many possessions one of two things inevitably happens.  It doesn’t fit in our truck, or it takes forever to mobilize and move on to the next adventure.

We combat this with one key realization.  Much of what we own can serve multiple purposes.

The growing outdoor industry has been developing many different clothing lines that can now be worn from trail to town.  My go-to ultra-marathon outfit looks fit for a stroll through downtown – to the point that my racing partners get tired of hearing people asking if I got lost on my way to the bar mid 50mi race.

Breathable and stretchy fabric in fashionable designs and cuts have allowed us to outfit ourselves for many different occasions with only a few key pieces in our wardrobe. 

For furniture we either rent fully furnished apartments or take advantage of Goodwill and other thrift stores.  Here in Washington we were able to fully outfit our apartment with a couch, TV stand, Kitchen table and chairs, and a few other items for under $400.  Plus we can sell most or all of it again at the end and hardly be out much money.  The $180 or so that we “lost” to furnishings this 6 month contract is worth every penny compared to renting a trailer or moving truck each time we set out for a new home.

Experiences > Stuff

To be honest, I am not sure how this value set into our lives.  For some reason Ellen and I have always had an acute awareness of how fleeting our lives really are.  Maybe it stems from our love for more adventurous sports that carry inherent mortal risks, rock climbing, back-country skiing, etc. But we have prioritized doing things over acquiring things for as long as I can remember. 

How does this play out in our lives? 

We focus our spending on gas, gear, and great times.  Gas and gear are simply the price to play when your main adventures are mountain bound.  Driving into the mountains every weekend is not cheap, but it beats sitting in front of a huge flashing screen all day.

When evaluating whether or not to get a new piece of gear we often ask each other if it will open up more experiences to us or not.  Fishing gear in Alaska cost us about $150 each, but we were able to go countless times and send home hundreds of dollars worth of fresh self-caught salmon and halibut to our friends and families.  Not to mention the adventures of fishing next to a brown bear, seeing countless bald eagles squabbling over fish guts, or driving to our secret spot with friends laughing in the back seat.  A huge net positive!

Some of our favorite expenses have been great trips or experiences.  Mountain biking down Haleakala Volcano on our anniversary, concert tickets or seats at a local sporting event, or even entry fees for a race we will run together.  We cant always take stuff with us, but memories of these events will stick with us forever.    

Hedonistic Adaptation – Experience Stretching

In my humble opinion I’m rather firmly convinced that this is the scourge of the current culture in America.

Hedonistic Adaptation is two fancy words describing a rather simple concept.  Soon after immensely positive (or negative) life events, our happiness will default back to baseline.  In a positive light it explains why people can experience terrible tragedy and quickly recover seemingly in miraculous fashion. The flip side is that no single event can provide lasting happiness, and often subsequent events need to elicit an even greater response to have the same initial effect.  Essentially the threshold for a happiness state has been raised.

I prefer the term Experience Stretching.  I feel it more fully encapsulates the problem in action. 

An initial experience may have been wonderful, but the next time it needs to be just a bit better to generate the same excitement.  Same with the time after that, and after that.  The experience as a whole must grow to satisfy our hedonistic preferences.

This explains our collective desire for the latest and greatest, both in experiences and in purchases.  Why we become less satisfied with things once the newness wears off.  And why beautiful dog walks on the beach at sunset every night in Cali became a chore for us instead of a treat like it initially was. The fantasy world California was offering had become our “new normal.” Add a great bottle of wine or campfire to that sunset and all of a sudden it was epic again. What had initially spiked our happiness was now just the same old same old.  Hedonistic Adaptation at work.

So what can we do about it?

Enter Marie Kondo.  In Marie Kondo’s international bestseller The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up she advises people to look at every object they own and ask themselves “Does this bring me joy?”  If not, you thank it for its time in your life and toss it. If it does bring you joy you keep it. 

The beauty in this exercise, as silly as it sounds, is taking the time to focus on joy and gratitude on the micro level.

Ellen and I will frequently go through our things (generally during a move) and walk through some form of this exercise.  We assess if something Makes us happy or just Made us happy.  If it made us happy in the past, but not currently, we acknowledge that and give it away.  If it currently is something that we really enjoy we keep it and it joins us on the move.

Now, we have added a usage clause to this as well.  Given our limited capacity to move things, if we have not used something in the last 6 months (besides seasonal gear) it also needs to go.

The great thing about this practice is that is directly translates to improving experiences as well.

In a 2012 study it was found that Variety and Appreciation were keys to what the psychological community refers to as Hedonistic Adaptation Prevention (HAP).

Taking a moment to step back and appreciate the world around you will help bring a higher level of satisfaction to the moment, and prevent the need for stretching the experience next time.  Practicing appreciating the utility and enjoyment of your stuff makes it far easier to develop the presence of mind to do the same during seemingly normal everyday events. Further information found HERE.

To summarize this long and self-indulgently rambling post.  Minimalism in our lives looks like maximizing the things we can do with our stuff, and maximizing the things we can do with our time. Eliminating excess and redundancy when we can and appreciating the moments and possessions that bring us joy. 

Written by: Stephen Stockhausen